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Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 September 2018 establishing a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and amending Regulations (EU) No 1077/2011, (EU) No 515/2014, (EU) 2016/399, (EU) 2016/1624 and (EU) 2017/2226
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1.Where the examination of an application pursuant to the procedures laid down in Chapters III, IV and V indicates that there are no factual indications or reasonable grounds based on factual indications to conclude that the presence of the person on the territory of the Member States poses a security, illegal immigration or high epidemic risk, a travel authorisation shall be issued by the ETIAS Central System or the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible.
2.In cases where there is doubt as to whether sufficient reasons to refuse the travel authorisation exist, the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible shall have the possibility, including after an interview, to issue a travel authorisation with a flag recommending to border authorities to proceed with a second line check.
The ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible may also attach such a flag upon the request of a consulted Member State. Such a flag shall only be visible to the border authorities.
The flag shall be removed automatically once the border authorities have carried out the check and have entered the entry record in the EES.
3.The ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible shall have the possibility to add a flag indicating to border authorities and other authorities with access to the data in the ETIAS Central System that a specific hit triggered during the processing of the application has been assessed and that it has been verified that the hit constituted a false hit or that the manual processing has shown that there were no grounds for the refusal of the travel authorisation.
4.The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 89 to establish adequate safeguards by providing rules and procedures to avoid conflicts with alerts in other information systems and to define the conditions, the criteria and the duration of flagging pursuant to this Regulation.
5.A travel authorisation shall be valid for three years or until the end of validity of the travel document registered during application, whichever comes first, and shall be valid for the territory of the Member States.
6.A travel authorisation shall not confer an automatic right of entry or stay.
1.A travel authorisation shall be refused if the applicant:
(a)used a travel document which is reported as lost, stolen, misappropriated or invalidated in SIS;
(b)poses a security risk;
(c)poses an illegal immigration risk;
(d)poses a high epidemic risk;
(e)is a person for whom an alert has been entered in SIS for the purpose of refusing entry and stay;
(f)fails to reply to a request for additional information or documentation within the deadlines referred to in Article 27;
(g)fails to attend an interview as referred to in Article 27(4).
2.A travel authorisation shall also be refused if, at the time of the application, there are reasonable and serious doubts as to the authenticity of the data, the reliability of the statements made by the applicant, the supporting documents provided by the applicant or the veracity of their contents.
3.Applicants who have been refused a travel authorisation shall have the right to appeal. Appeals shall be conducted in the Member State that has taken the decision on the application and in accordance with the national law of that Member State. The ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible shall provide applicants with information regarding the appeal procedure. The information shall be provided in one of the official languages of the countries listed in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of which the applicant is a national.
4.A previous refusal of a travel authorisation shall not lead to an automatic refusal of a new application. A new application shall be assessed on the basis of all the available information.
1.Once a travel authorisation is issued, the applicant shall immediately receive a notification via the email service, including:
(a)a clear statement that the travel authorisation has been issued and the travel authorisation application number;
(b)the commencement and expiry dates of the travel authorisation;
(c)a clear statement that upon entry the applicant will have to present the same travel document as that indicated in the application form and that any change of travel document will require a new application for a travel authorisation;
(d)a reminder of the entry conditions laid down in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 and the fact that a short stay is only possible for a duration of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period;
(e)a reminder that the mere possession of a travel authorisation does not confer an automatic right of entry;
(f)a reminder that the border authorities may request supporting documents at external borders in order to verify fulfilment of the conditions of entry and stay;
(g)a reminder that the possession of a valid travel authorisation is a condition for stay that has to be fulfilled during the entire duration of a short stay on the territory of Member States;
(h)a link to the web service referred to in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 enabling third-country nationals to verify at any moment their remaining authorised stay;
(i)where applicable, the Member States to which the applicant is authorised to travel;
(j)a link to the ETIAS public website containing information on the possibility for the applicant to request the revocation of the travel authorisation, the possibility for the travel authorisation to be revoked if the conditions for issuing it are no longer met and the possibility for its annulment where it becomes evident that the conditions for issuing it were not met at the time it was issued;
(k)information on the procedures for exercising the rights under Articles 13 to 16 of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Articles 15 to 18 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679; the contact details of the data protection officer of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, of the European Data Protection Supervisor and of the national supervisory authority of the Member State of first intended stay where the travel authorisation has been issued by the ETIAS Central System, or of the Member State responsible where the travel authorisation has been issued by an ETIAS National Unit.
2.Where a travel authorisation has been refused, the applicant shall immediately receive a notification via the email service including:
(a)a clear statement that the travel authorisation has been refused and the travel authorisation application number;
(b)a reference to the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible that refused the travel authorisation and its address;
(c)a statement of the grounds for refusal of the travel authorisation indicating the applicable grounds from those listed in Article 37(1) and (2) enabling the applicant to lodge an appeal;
(d)information on the right to lodge an appeal and the time limit for doing so; a link to the information referred to in Article 16(7) on the website;
(e)information on the procedures for exercising the rights under Articles 13 to 16 of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Articles 15 to 18 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679; the contact details of the data protection officer of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, of the European Data Protection Supervisor and of the national supervisory authority of the Member State responsible.
3.The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt a standard form for refusal, annulment or revocation of a travel authorisation. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 90(2).
1.Where a decision has been taken to issue a travel authorisation, the ETIAS Central System or, where the decision has been taken following manual processing as provided for in Chapter IV, the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible shall add the following data to the application file without delay:
(a)status information indicating that the travel authorisation has been issued;
(b)a reference as to whether the travel authorisation was issued by the ETIAS Central System or following manual processing; in the latter case a reference to the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible which took the decision and its address;
(c)the date of the decision to issue the travel authorisation;
(d)the commencement and expiry dates of the travel authorisation;
(e)any flags attached to the travel authorisation as laid down in Article 36(2) and (3), together with an indication of the reasons for such flag(s), and additional information relevant to second line checks in the case of Article 36(2), and additional information relevant to border authorities in the case of Article 36(3).
2.The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 89 to further define the type of additional information that may be added, its language and formats, as well as the reasons for the flags.
3.Where a decision has been taken to refuse a travel authorisation, the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible shall add the following data to the application file:
(a)status information indicating that the travel authorisation has been refused;
(b)a reference to the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible that refused the travel authorisation and its address;
(c)date of the decision to refuse the travel authorisation;
(d)the grounds for refusal of the travel authorisation, by indicating the grounds from those listed in Article 37(1) and (2).
4.In addition to the data referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3, where a decision has been taken to issue or to refuse a travel authorisation, the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible shall also add the reasons for its final decision, unless that decision is a refusal based on a negative opinion from a consulted Member State.
1.A travel authorisation shall be annulled where it becomes evident that the conditions for issuing it were not met at the time it was issued. The travel authorisation shall be annulled on the basis of one or more of the grounds for refusal of the travel authorisation laid down in Article 37(1) and (2).
2.Where a Member State is in possession of evidence that the conditions for issuing a travel authorisation were not met at the time it was issued, the ETIAS National Unit of that Member State shall annul the travel authorisation.
3.A person whose travel authorisation has been annulled shall have the right to appeal. Appeals shall be conducted in the Member State that has taken the decision on the annulment and in accordance with the national law of that Member State. The ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible shall provide applicants with information regarding the appeal procedure. The information shall be provided in one of the official languages of the countries listed in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of which the applicant is a national.
4.The justification for the decision to annul a travel authorisation shall be recorded in the application file by the staff member having performed the risk assessment.
1.A travel authorisation shall be revoked where it becomes evident that the conditions for issuing it are no longer met. The travel authorisation shall be revoked on the basis of one or more of the grounds for refusal of the travel authorisation laid down in Article 37(1).
2.Where a Member State is in possession of evidence that the conditions for issuing the travel authorisation are no longer met, the ETIAS National Unit of that Member State shall revoke the travel authorisation.
3.Without prejudice to paragraph 2, where a new alert is issued in SIS concerning a new refusal of entry and stay or concerning a travel document reported as lost, stolen, misappropriated or invalidated, SIS shall inform the ETIAS Central System. The ETIAS Central System shall verify whether this new alert corresponds to a valid travel authorisation. Where this is the case, the ETIAS Central System shall transfer the application file to the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State having entered the alert. Where a new alert for refusal of entry and stay has been issued, the ETIAS National Unit shall revoke the travel authorisation. Where the travel authorisation is linked to a travel document reported as lost, stolen, misappropriated or invalidated in SIS or SLTD, the ETIAS National Unit shall manually process the application file.
4.New data entered into the ETIAS watchlist shall be compared to the data of the application files in the ETIAS Central System. The ETIAS Central System shall verify whether those new data correspond to a valid travel authorisation. Where this is the case, the ETIAS Central System shall transfer the application file to the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State having entered the new data, or where Europol entered the new data, to the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State of first intended stay as declared by the applicant in accordance with point (j) of Article 17(2). That ETIAS National Unit shall assess the security risk and shall revoke the travel authorisation where it concludes that the conditions for granting it are no longer met.
5.Where a refusal of entry record is entered in the EES concerning the holder of a valid travel authorisation and that record is justified by reason B or I listed in Annex V, Part B, to Regulation (EU) 2016/399, the ETIAS Central System shall transfer the application file to the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State having refused entry. That ETIAS National Unit shall assess whether the conditions for granting the travel authorisation are still met and, if not, shall revoke the travel authorisation.
6.The justification for the decision to revoke a travel authorisation shall be recorded in the application file by the staff member having performed the risk assessment.
7.An applicant whose travel authorisation has been revoked shall have the right to appeal. Appeals shall be conducted in the Member State that has taken the decision on the revocation and in accordance with the national law of that Member State. The ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible shall provide applicants with information regarding the appeal procedure. The information shall be provided in one of the official languages of the countries listed in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of which the applicant is a national.
8.A travel authorisation may be revoked at the request of the applicant. No appeal shall be possible against a revocation on this basis. If the applicant is present on the territory of a Member State when such a request is introduced, the revocation shall become effective once the applicant has exited the territory and from the moment the corresponding entry/exit record has been created in the EES in accordance with Articles 16(3) and 17(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226.
Where a travel authorisation has been annulled or revoked, the applicant shall immediately receive a notification via the email service including:
a clear statement that the travel authorisation has been annulled or revoked and the travel authorisation application number;
a reference to the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible that annulled or revoked the travel authorisation and its address;
a statement of the grounds for the annulment or revocation of the travel authorisation indicating the applicable grounds from those listed in Article 37(1) and (2) enabling the applicant to lodge an appeal;
information on the right to lodge an appeal and the time limit for doing so; a link to the information referred to in Article 16(7) on the website;
a clear statement that the possession of a valid travel authorisation is a condition for stay that has to be fulfilled during the entire duration of a short stay on the territory of Member States;
information on the procedures for exercising the rights under Articles 13 to 16 of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Articles 15 to 18 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679; the contact details of the data protection officer of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, of the European Data Protection Supervisor and of the national supervisory authority of the Member State responsible.
1.Where a decision has been taken to annul or to revoke a travel authorisation, the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible that annulled or revoked the travel authorisation shall add the following data to the application file without delay:
(a)status information indicating that the travel authorisation has been annulled or revoked;
(b)a reference to the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible that revoked or annulled the travel authorisation and its address; and
(c)date of the decision to annul or revoke the travel authorisation.
2.The ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible that annulled or revoked the travel authorisation shall also indicate in the application file either the ground(s) for annulment or revocation that are applicable under Article 37(1) and (2) or that the travel authorisation was revoked at the request of the applicant under Article 41(8).
1.Where an application has been deemed admissible in accordance with Article 19, the Member State to which the third-country national concerned intends to travel may exceptionally issue a travel authorisation with limited territorial validity when that Member State considers it necessary on humanitarian grounds in accordance with its national law, for reasons of national interest or because of international obligations, notwithstanding the fact that:
(a)the manual processing pursuant to Article 26 is not yet completed; or
(b)a travel authorisation has been refused, annulled or revoked.
Such authorisations will generally be valid only in the territory of the issuing Member State. However, they may also exceptionally be issued with a territorial validity covering more than one Member State, subject to the consent of each such Member State through their ETIAS National Units. Where an ETIAS National Unit is considering issuing a travel authorisation with limited territorial validity covering several Member States, that ETIAS National Unit of the Member State responsible shall consult those Member States.
Where a travel authorisation with limited territorial validity has been requested or issued in the circumstances referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, this shall not interrupt the manual processing of the application allowing issue of a travel authorisation without limited territorial validity.
2.For the purposes of paragraph 1, and as referred to in the public website and the app for mobile devices, the applicant may contact the ETIAS Central Unit indicating his or her application number, the Member State to which he or she intends to travel and that the purpose of his or her travel is based on humanitarian grounds or is linked to international obligations. Where such contact has been made, the ETIAS Central Unit shall inform the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State to which the third-country national intends to travel and shall record the information in the application file.
3.The ETIAS National Unit of the Member State to which the third-country national intends to travel may request additional information or documentation from the applicant and may set the deadline within which such additional information or documentation is to be submitted. Such requests shall be notified through the email service referred to in point (f) of Article 6(2) to the contact email address recorded in the application file, and shall indicate a list of the languages in which the information or documentation may be submitted. That list shall include at least English or French or German unless it includes an official language of the third country of which the applicant has declared to be a national. The applicant shall not be required to provide an official translation into those languages. The applicant shall provide the additional information or documentation directly to the ETIAS National Unit through the secure account service referred to in point (g) of Article 6(2). Upon submission of the additional information or documentation, the ETIAS Central System shall record and store that information or documentation in the application file. The additional information or documentation recorded in the application file shall be consulted only for the purpose of assessing and deciding on the application, for the purpose of managing an appeal procedure or for the purpose of processing a new application by the same applicant.
4.A travel authorisation with limited territorial validity shall be valid for a maximum of 90 days from the date of first entry on the basis of that authorisation.
5.Travel authorisations issued under this Article may be the subject of a flag under Article 36(2) or (3).
6.Where a travel authorisation with limited territorial validity is issued, the following data shall be added to the application file by the ETIAS National Unit which issued that authorisation:
(a)status information indicating that a travel authorisation with limited territorial validity has been issued;
(b)the Member State(s) to which the travel authorisation holder is entitled to travel and the validity period of that travel authorisation;
(c)the ETIAS National Unit of the Member State that issued the travel authorisation with limited territorial validity and its address;
(d)date of the decision to issue the travel authorisation with limited territorial validity;
(e)a reference to the humanitarian grounds, reasons of national interest or international obligations invoked;
(f)any flags attached to the travel authorisation, as laid down in Article 36(2) and (3), together with an indication of the reasons for such flag(s) and additional information relevant to second line checks in the case of Article 36(2), and additional information relevant to border authorities in the case of Article 36(3).
Where an ETIAS National Unit issues a travel authorisation with limited territorial validity with no information or documentation having been submitted by the applicant, that ETIAS National Unit shall record and store appropriate information or documentation in the application file justifying that decision.
7.Where a travel authorisation with limited territorial validity has been issued, the applicant shall receive a notification via the email service, including:
(a)a clear statement that a travel authorisation with limited territorial validity has been issued and the travel authorisation application number;
(b)the commencement and expiry dates of the travel authorisation with limited territorial validity;
(c)a clear statement of the Member States to which the holder of the authorisation is entitled to travel and that he or she can only travel within the territory of those Member States;
(d)a reminder that the possession of a valid travel authorisation is a condition for stay that has to be fulfilled during the entire duration of a short stay on the territory of the Member State for which the travel authorisation with limited territorial validity has been issued;
(e)a link to the web service referred to in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 enabling third-country nationals to verify at any moment their remaining authorised stay.
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